Hermione Granger and the Philosopher's Stone
by theviolentflame
Summary: Hermione Granger finds out she is a witch and begins attending Hogwarts. She meets a few friends along the way, and eventually becomes instrumental in the fight against the Dark Lord Voldemort. This is a retelling of the Harry Potter series from Hermione's perspective. I want to follow canon as much as possible. 2 Chapters finished so far.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione Granger's parents were very proud of their daughter. She was always the top of her class, and before she started school she could already read and write and do simple math. Throughout her first couple school years, teachers would always gush over what a bright child she was.

Still, her second grade teacher wanted to call a meeting for some reason, and so her parents had agreed to meet after work that Wednesday. In fact, they'd had to close the dental office early in order for both of them to get there, but had instructed Hermione not to mention that to her teacher, in case they came across as looking angry. Hermione looked up at the clock above the whiteboard. 4:01pm. Not like them to be late. She began twisting her bushy hair in her fingers, wondering where they were.

It wasn't easy to wait in the classroom. During the day there were things to distract you from the stuffy air from the windows that didn't open, or the loud ticking of the cheap clock likely found in a bargain store somewhere. Hermione wished she had a water bottle, it was very dry in this room and she was feeling cotton mouthed.

Marlene Jacobs was seated behind a beat up desk when Hermione's parents came in. Her hair, which looked like it might have been in a tight bun in the morning, was now falling out a bit, and there was a strand hanging in her face. She looked as though she'd gotten about six hours of sleep that week put together, but still managed to put on a smile when the Grangers walked in. "Hello Mr and Mrs Granger. Thank you for making it down here like this, I know you keep busy office hours."

Hermione was seated at her desk in the front row. She thumbed at the tape around the colourfulnametag stuck to her desk, and pulled up the edge of it a little bit. She knew she would regret making such a mess of it later, but for now, it was all she could do to keep from having an anxiety attack. This was the first time she'd ever been kept after class.

Before the Grangers could reply to her greeting, Ms. Jacobs looked at Hermione, "My dear, would you mind waiting in the hallway? This won't take very long, and I would like to speak to your parents privately if you don't mind."

Hermione grabbed a book out of her desk and made eye contact with her mother on the way out the door. Her mom smiled at her and said "don't worry dear, we will be out right away." and opened the door for her. "and besides, we are right here if you need us." Hermione went through the door and it shut behind her.

The school was an old building and she found that she couldn't help but to overhear. Well, couldn't help but overhear if she was sitting as close to the door as possible and straining, but the truth wouldn't have to be stretched much if it came to it.

In the time it took her to shift into position she had already missed a few sentences. She heard Ms. Jacobs say "...the first few years of school are extremely important for children. There is not much else that has such a strong impact as primary school. I'd venture to argue that it is just as formative as the lessons and experiences a child has at home." Hermione could hear her father starting to object, but Ms. Jacobs continued,

"Please Mr Granger, I am not quite finished. You see, in primary school, and especially in the first few years, children are leaving the haven of their home for the first time. Usually by second grade, children have made some friends and are used to having a teacher. I don't think Hermione has any problem with the second part, but she does appear to be a bit socially alienated. The truth is that a child met with exclusion and ridicule will likely grow up to distrust other people. I'm worried Hermione isn't having the easiest time finding friends here."

Hermione looked down at her novel and set it beside her, hugging her legs into her chest. It was true, she didn't get along well with many of the other children, but why did that matter to Ms. Jacobs? There was no grade assigned for friendship.

"Now, those concerns certainly have some weight. However," Hermione heard her mother say, "she is just a gifted child. Perhaps the problem could be solved by placing her in the grade ahead? She does all of her homework within fifteen minutes of getting home anyway, and you've hardly called us here to discuss her understanding of the material."

Ms Jacobs sighed heavily. "Students have a hard time accepting children socially who are younger than they are. In a non-school setting its fine, but in classes I've seen it happen many times where a student becomes more isolated than they already were."

Hermione balled her hands into fists as she listened, and soon she could see white moons on her nails from pressing them into her palms. Was she doomed to be alone forever? Her chest got tight as she tried to keep herself from crying. She focused on the in and out of her breathing.

It seemed like forever before any of them spoke again. "Also, there have been some strange incidents involving the children teasing Hermione. It sounds crazy, but things like all the milk becoming sour in the cups of children teasing her, but none of the other children. Maybe they brought vinegar or something in themselves, and had it pre planned. It wouldn't have been possible to be Hermione, and she didn't get punished, but the point is that things have escalated past the point of what we consider at this school to be healthy for a child." Ms. Jacobs lowered her voice, and Hermione could barely hear when she said, "The other students have taken to calling her a witch."

It wasn't true that she hadn't been punished at all for the milk incident. The students had all been made to apologize to each other, even though she had not done anything wrong. Hermione had had to stand up in front of the entire class and apologize.

"What I'm saying is, Hermione may be more comfortable at another school altogether. There's a very common group phenomenon, especially at this age: inclusion through exclusion, to tighten a group by excluding people from it. I think that's what..."

Whatever Ms. Jacobs was saying was suddenly cut off by a sound like a branch snapping, only much louder. Hermione jumped up out of fright and looked around. A big crack had appeared in the wall just behind her. She started in to the classroom, but her parents burst out the door before she'd so much as taken a step.

As soon as she saw her parents she blurted an apology. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I was just sitting here reading, I never meant to! You have to believe me that I didn't mean f-f-for…" but she wasn't able to finish because she started to cry.

At once the teacher and her parents assured her that there is no way she could have caused such a thing. "Hermione, that simply wouldn't have been possible for you. This is an old building. It is just an unfortunate coincidence." said her mother.

"Anyway I think we've heard enough for today Ms. Jacobs. Hermione is obviously very upset and we're going to bring her home now." says Hermione's father. Hermione grabbed her mother's hand and started down the hall toward the door, leaving her father to say goodbye to her teacher.

Still crying, on the way out Hermione looked up to her mother and choked out "You're not going to send me to another school, are you?"


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm planning on taking the entire Harry Potter series and rewriting it from Hermione's perspective. To do that, I'm going to need some help from the readers, just to know you guys are reading and interested. Please read and review so that I can be involved with you every step of the way on this!**

It was a hot day in late June and the last day of Hermione Granger's school year. Anxious to get out of her sweaty school clothes, she raced up the path to her house. She was eleven now, and it was a somewhat recent privilege to be able to walk home from the nearby school by herself.

Although happy to have the summer at her disposal for independent study, she couldn't help but think about her teacher Ms. Jacobs from years ago. She said Hermione may be more suited to a different school. They hadn't switched, but perhaps the teacher had been right. Socially speaking, things weren't easy for Hermione before or since.

Her parents came home and asked some questions about her last day. It was a routine Hermione was well used to. Still, she answered them in a disinterested tone, just to keep them happy. Halfway through one of her father's questions, her mother pulled a very large lollipop out of her bag. Hermione immediately forgot what her father was talking about to look at the candy. The spiraled rainbow pattern was fun in and of itself, but it was very rare for her parents to surprise her with sweets.

"Its your end of the year present dear. For all your good grades." her mother explained. "Don't eat it now though, it will be dinner soon."

Later, while the family was cleaning up their dishes from supper, there was a knock at the door. Hermione's parents were doing the dishes together, so she went to answer it herself. At the door was a woman not much younger than her mother wearing in a strange sort of dress, and she exclaimed "You must be Hermione Granger!"

Hermione took a step backward. Looking down at the floor, she said, "Yes, how do you know my name?" There weren't many good explanations for why somebody may be here looking for her, unless of course this woman was a friend of her parent's and they'd happened to share the fact that they had a daughter at some point. She exhaled slowly. Yes, that must be it.

"Mum! Dad! There's somebody here at the door!" she called back into the house.

When all were gathered at the door, the woman pulled out an envelope from a briefcase that Hermione was now noticing for the first time. On the envelope was the name Hermione Granger. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Granger, my name is Lisa Dupree. I am here to offer your daughter a spot at a very special school. Do you have a moment?"

Her parents exchanged a look, but her father ended up saying "Yes, please, come inside. I believe we've just put the kettle on."

"I am here to offer Hermione a spot at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"That cannot be true. Unless you have a serious offer for my daughter, get out of my house." her father demanded, standing up out of his chair. For her part, her mother crossed her arms over her stomach and looked quite uncomfortable.

However, the woman representing Hogwarts would not be shaken. She explained that she was from the Ministry of Magic, and pulled out a long red coloured stick. Pointing it at the remote control on the table, the woman said "Wingardium Leviosa", and up it flew.

Mr. Granger was turning a shade of dark pink that Hermione was certain couldn't mean good things for his blood pressure. "Look, lady, I don't know how you did that, but I know for a fact that magic is not real."

"If that demonstration was not enough for you, and indeed it is not enough for most families, is there perhaps an item in your house that needs mending? There will be no further harm done to the object, and I am fairly sure I can fix it, given it is not mechanically complex."

Ms Dupree was speaking loudly enough for Hermione to hear her throughout her sentence, but halfway through, she had run to her bedroom. She had barely stopped talking when Hermione thrust a small porcelain doll into her hands. It was missing an arm, and had been that way for years.

"Reparo!" Ms Dupree said, training her wand at the doll. The parts fused back together instantly, and it was as if it was new from the store.

"How did you do that?" her mother asked, speaking for the first time since they'd sat down in the living room.

"Magic." was the short but friendly reply.

The rest of the night was a blur as a few more demonstrations were made and many questions were asked, but ultimately it was decided that Hermione would enroll for now, with the option to pull out before summertime began. She couldn't tell if her parents were relieved or more worried when they discovered that there was a secret wizard shopping area where she would need to buy her supplies.

Before bed, Hermione tried as best she could to change the colour of her hair. Of course, it wouldn't work. "maybe I just need a wand" she muttered to herself as she was falling asleep.


End file.
